The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'
by Ritina
Summary: Every 50 years, the members of the Kanbara family make an offering to the Wolfmon. But Takuya Kanbara is the black sheep and doesn't wish to fulfill his duty. What will happen if the Wolfmon doesn't get its offering? AU, Takouji, shounenai COMPLETE
1. Chapter One

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 1: 'Prologue'

A long time ago, there was a village that went by the name 'Tallatpicka'. This village had suffered from many raids and the small population was starving. The elders then spoke of a powerful being: The Wolfmon!

They stated that if you spoke a special prayer at midnight during a full moon, that the Wolfmon would come to your aid, no matter where you were . . . But for a price, of course. You had to offer him livestock. Only then would the Wolfmon obey.

The villagers swept that idea away. They would never believe such an absurd folktale. Besides, what little livestock they did have, they had to keep for themselves.

But there was one boy who did listen . . .

. . . His name was Hiroshi Kanbara.

Hiroshi was only 10 years old at the time, so he practically believed everything he was told. Despite being gullable, he was sneaky.

A half-hour before midnight on the night of the full moon, Hiroshi snuck out of his bedroom and stole a cow from his neighbor. He then led the animal away from the village into the nearby meadow.

The boy killed the cow and dragged it onto a large, flat boulder. He already knew the special prayer he had to recite, his mother sang it to him as a lullaby when he was smaller.

"These nights have always been bitter and cold,

I've always wondered when it would stop,

I've always wondered what I would be when I become old,

Will I have yet to reach the top?

Or maybe when this moon shines down on me,

I will learn the lesson told,

Or maybe they will begin to believe,

That dark things can become gold,

They will believe this 'Moonshine',

They will understand what I mean,

When they dine,

With kings and queens."

Hiroshi spoke the prayer and waited. He gazed up at the full moon for a sign of the Wolfmon, and sure enough, a shadow passed through it's light. The gleeful boy grinned from ear to ear, certain that things would be different from now on.

Hiroshi woke up the next morning when his mother awakened him. She exclaimed that there was a large pile of gold coins was piled in the middle of the village along with everything that was ever stolen from them.

Ever since then, the same village of Tallatpicka has given the Wolfmon offerings every 50 years in exchange for protection from raids. But only a certain person can give the offering: A member of the Kanbara family.

And that's where our story begins . . .

END OF CHAPTER 1 . . .

Ritina: Yay! First chappy up! I'll post the next one up soooon! I'll try to make that one longer! Yeah, I wrote the prayer. I'm not good at rhyming. So sorry if it doesn't make any sense or if it's kinda weird. Yeah, I'd make a proper border to separate my comments from the story, but the thing won't let me do them. Blargh. So now I'm doing my comments after the END OF CHAPTER things.


	2. Chapter Two

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 2: 'Moonshine'

It has been 150 years since Hiroshi Kanbara called for the Wolfmon. Now his descendant must give the offering.

The descendant's name is Takuya.

Ever since he was just eight years old, Takuya was made to memorize the special prayer. Even now, seven years later, he was still being trained. That night was the big night, the full moon.

Takuya sighed as he lifted his arms so that his body resembled a 'T'. His mother then held up a blue, black, and white dress robe against his chest. "Moooom!" he whined.

"Awww," Mrs. Kanbara said lovingly. "You look so cute, Taky!"

"Mooooooom!" Takuya groaned again. "Don't call me that! I'm not 5 years old anymore!"

His mother sighed as she lowered the robe. "I know, I know. You're just growing up so fast! Oh, whatever happened to my little boy?"

Takuya stepped away from his mother and was about to exit when she called after him. "Not so fast! Have you completed your lesson today?"

Takuya pouted. "Can't I just take today off?"

"No! Learning the Old Tongue is crucial!"

"If it's so important, how come I'm the only guy in the whole village that has to learn it?!"

"It's important because _you're_ important! You're the only one who can make the offering."

Takuya sighed and just gave up. He and his parents always had an argument like this one. The teen's shoulders slumped, and he trudged upstairs to his room. He knew that his studies were inevitable . . . but he could still delay them.

After shutting his bedroom door, Takuya grinned evilly and tip-toed over to the window. He had done this hundreds of times before. There was a trellis just outside his window covered in vines. The boy peeked outside, making sure that there was no one around, and then looked over to the trellis, or rather, where the trellis used to be. Takuya's jaw dropped as he realized that his parents had discovered his secret escape and had moved it to the back of the house. His mouth closed and his teeth ground together. They weren't going to cut him some slack today.

He stepped away from the window and belly-flopped onto his bed, burying his face in the sheets and gripping them in his fists. It had been like this for as long as he could remember. He would always have to learn about old things that everyone else had forgotten, just because he was related to the stupid Hiroshi Kanbara. He would never have time to go outside and make friends. Whenever he did play outside, he would have to sneak out, or his parents would have to be in a lenient mood, which was pretty rare.

After a while, Takuya finally raised his head from the sheets and his gaze wandered over to where his textbook of the Old Tongue lay. It's cover was battered and torn, plus it smelled like something, perhaps a raccoon, had peed on it. It was disgusting, and the brunette hated it as much as a fat kid would hate a diet.

Reluctantly, Takuya lifted the book and brought it closer. He winced as its stench reached his nose. Who in their right mind would give him a reeking, putrid bunch of bound paper for his seventh birthday? Well, that was easy, his parents. They had always been obsessed with his studies, insisting that he hadn't learned enough and piling more onto his load. He had already been taught how to say the special prayer in the Old Tongue, Takuya thought that that was enough but noooo. His relatives demanded that he learn the rest of the dead language also. If it wasn't used anymore, why should he know it?

With his index finger and thumb, the teen gingerly opened the book and turned a few pages to where he had left off yesterday. As he carefully lifted a page, at least five silver fish scurried out from underneath it, and Takuya almost yelped in surprise. When the little critters were out of sight, he sighed and began to read today's lesson.

As usual, the hours passed sluggishly. Takuya was very drowsy, but he wouldn't let himself fall asleep, for fear of his head resting on the revolting book and silver fish crawling all over him.

Finally, after what seemed a million eternities, his mother opened the door, smiled sweetly, and announced, "Dinner is ready, Taky!"

Takuya blinked a few times after she left, still sleepy. Just that afternoon, hadn't he told her not to call him that?

The boy rolled off his bed and landed on the floor with a 'thunk'. Immune to that routine, he stood up straight and plodded down the stairs to the dining room. He sat at his place at the table, rubbing his eyes.

"Ready for the big night, son?" his father inquired happily.

"Errg . . ." Takuya mumbled. "Blaaahhveersshnnaaahhh . . ."

"Uh," Mr. Kanbara said confusedly. "I'm not even going to ask what you just said. Pass the potatoes, honey."

Takuya continued to lethargically lift his fork to his mouth and eat, when his mother noticed how sleepy he looked. "Taky, maybe you should go to bed early. You don't want to fall asleep and be late to make the offering. Who knows what the Wolfmon would --"

"ENOUGH!" Takuya, suddenly full of energy, slammed his fists onto the table, upsetting a few cups, causing them to spill out their contents.

"Takuya!" exclaimed his father. "Don't use that tone with us! Clean this up now!"

"NO!" the brunette yelled. "I'm not going to sacrifice the rest of my life to that damn Wolfmon!"

"Watch your mouth --!"

"Shut up!" Takuya interrupted, glaring menacingly. "I've had it with everything! I don't want anyone to tell me what to do anymore! I don't have any friends! I don't have anyone to talk to! I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING KEEPING ME HERE!"

"Takuya," his mother spoke quietly. "Calm down . . ."

"NO!" the Kanbara boy shouted, his eyes changing color from chocolate brown to a shining, icy blue. Small sparks of flame whirled around Takuya's body, threatening to set the house on fire. His parents immediately sprung out of their chairs into standing positions. His father was the first one to try to quiet the boy.

"Takuya!" he commanded. "Stop this at once! We are your parents! You're supposed to treat us with respect!"

Takuya's now blue eyes quickly shifted to leer at his father. "Why should I respect you?" the teen said coldly. "When you don't respect ME?!" With that inquiry, Takuya's fist connected forcefully with the older man's jaw, and a sickening 'crack' was heard as he hit the floor.

Takuya then turned to face his mother, who's eyes reflected fear. With flames still swirling around him, the boy ran up the stairs to his room, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Suddenly, his eye color returned to a soft brown, and Takuya sank to the floor on his knees. He looked at the hand that had punched his father. "W-What . . . What have I done?!"

Without thinking, Takuya came to a conclusion: To run away.

The boy dug out a backpack from the clutter under his bed, and stashed inside of it some of his clothes and belongings, along with some old food he kept in his desk drawer for some odd reason. He was about to secure the pack's drawstring when he spotted the smelly textbook. He stuffed that last item into the bag, and pulled on the drawstrings and tied them in a knot to keep the opening shut.

Takuya strode over to the window, it was nighttime outside, so no one was around. He tossed his backpacks out the window and let it hit the dirt. Then he proceeded to climb out himself. Trellis or no trellis, nothing was going to stop him. He stopped moving when his body dangled on the side of the wall, with only his hands gripping the window ledge. He released his hold, and let himself fall to the ground.

The impact hurt momentarily, but Takuya quickly stood and slung the pack over his shoulder. He snuck around behind his neighbor's houses, until he reached the meadow. At first, he had started out at a brisk pace. But ever since that incident in the dining room, he had felt drained. He was relieved when he saw a large, flat stone in his path through the tall grass. His backpack slipped off his shoulder and he lay down on the boulder. He let his heavy eyelids close, and was soon fast asleep.

When Takuya awakened, he figured that he had slept a couple of hours, for he could see the full moon in the center of the sky above him.

Wait a sec.

Full moon?

Middle of the sky?

It must be midnight!

Takuya panicked and looked toward the village. He could see many small lights burning. 'Torches,' he thought. 'They must be looking for me!'

Takuya swiftly lifted up his bag and turned to leave. But instead of seeing the open meadow with mountains off in the distance, he saw a large shadow standing over him.

"The W-W-Wolf- . . ." Takuya trailed off as he fainted of fright.

END OF CHAPTER TWO

Ritina:Wai! Another chapter done! Teehee, Taky faaaiiinnttteeeeddd! giggle I'll have the next chapter up soon!


	3. Chapter Three

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 3: 'Meet the Wolfmon'

When Takuya regained consciousness, he found himself not in the meadow, but somewhere very dark and dank. A stone room, or a cave, perhaps? The teen felt around on the ground beside him. Dirt. He was in a cave. His eyes widened in sudden realization. The Wolfmon must have brought him here!

Takuya scrambled to stand, but stumbled and fell on his back.

"Owww . . ." he mumbled as he rubbed where his spine was hit.

"So," a voice spoke through the darkness. "You're awake."

Takuya gave a little squeak at the sound of the person's speech. It had to be the Wolfmon. Is the Wolfmon even a person?

Nevertheless, Takuya immediately bowed, his forehead touching the dirt. "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!"

"Eh?" Takuya could hear the confusion in the Wolfmon's speech. "Sorry for what?"

"I-I didn't make you an offering . . . or say the prayer . . ." Takuya wasn't sorry and he knew that. He just wanted to get out of there alive.

"Tch. Whatever. I could care less about the stupid offering. I figured I'd just get raw meat. The least they could do is cook it!"

Takuya squeezed his eyes shut as a torch was lit. Blinking heavily, he looked up, and saw that he wasn't facing the Wolfmon at all. Pressing his eyelids together again, Takuya shifted his position to where he thought he heard the Wolfmon's voice coming from. When he slowly revealed his brown eyes, Takuya squeaked again at what he saw.

The Wolfmon was no beast.

It was a regular teenage boy, just like him.

Only with sharp, black nail-claws, fuzzy wolf ears, and a fluffy tail.

Takuya's jaw dropped and he gawked at the male figure. The boy had a thin frame and long raven hair with a few strands hanging in his face. He wore a black sleeveless shirt with white pants and was barefoot. Wrapped around his neck was a long white scarf with blue stripes on it. He was sitting on the ground with Takuya, and was leisurely resting his face on his palm, his elbow propped up on a rock that served as a table.

The Wolfmon's eyes narrowed. "The inside of your mouth is getting dusty."

Takuya swiftly shut his mouth, which earned him a bitten tongue. He whimpered quietly and bowed. "Yes oh Sir Mister Wolfmon!"

The Wolfmon cocked an eyebrow. "'Sir Mister Wolfmon'? What the hell?" When The brunette remained with his head touching the floor, the other boy sighed. "I have a name you know."

Takuya sat up. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Takuya stared intently at the raven-haired boy, making him uncomfortable. His eyebrow twitched as the Kanbara boy's eyes bore into him. "W-What?"

"You look so . . ."

"What? Hideous? Different?"

"Normal."

Wolfmon's eyes widened. "Eh?"

Takuya smiled sweetly. "I was expecting some kind of werewolf."

"You sure are straaange."

Takuya shifted himself closer to his new acquaintance, suddenly feeling more comfortable. "Tell me about yourself."

"I don't do bedtime stories."

"Why are you so crabby?"

"Why do you make that judgement? We just met."

"I can just tell."

"I'm not crabby!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No. I'm. NOT!"

"YES. YOU. ARE!"

"NO. I'M. NOT!"

Takuya head-butted him, but Wolfmon pressed back with his own forehead.

"YES YOU ARE!"

"NO I'M NOT!"

"YES YOU AREEE!"

"NO I'M NOOOT!"

"YEEES YOOUU AREEE!"

"NOOO. III'M. **NOT!"**

With that 'not' spoken, Wolfmon pushed on Takuya's head and knocked him over, the brunette landed flat on his back for the second time that night.

Wolfmon abruptly stood and began briskly walking deeper into the cave. "Get some sleep, weirdo."

Takuya sat up and pouted. 'Weirdo? Look who's talkin', buddy!' he thought to himself. He didn't like being bossed around, but in spite of that, he slept.

END OF CHAPTER 3

Ritina: Enter the Wolfmon! Muwahahaha . . .


	4. Chapter Four

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 4: 'Note to Self . . .'

Takuya groaned as he was abruptly awakened from a nice dream by a sharp prodding in his ribs. Eyes squeezed shut, Takuya swatted at the unwanted physical contact. Despite the boy's efforts, the poking continued. He grunted and mumbled, "Muuurrfff . . . M'up, m'up . . . stoop pooking meeee . . ."

But the brunette was the exact opposite of his words. As soon as he had spoken, he rolled over and immediately returned to 'Dream Land'.

Wolfmon, being the one who disturbed Takuya, leered at the sleeping boy. Having run out of patience, the raven-haired teen roughly kicked the boy's rear, making sure his sharp toenails made contact.

Finally awake, Takuya yelped in a mixture of pain and surprise, and lept up from the dirt to a standing position. He whimpered as he gingerly touched his wounded bum. His expression hardened as he glared at the other boy. "What was that for?!"

"You wouldn't wake up," Wolfmon said bluntly. He sighed. "Anyways, your breakfast's over there --" he motioned toward the rock/table. "-- Don't leave this cave when you finish. I'm going out for a while."

As the raven-haired boy began to walk off, Takuya exclaimed, "W-Wait! Where are you going?"

Wolfmon stopped in mid-stride. " . . . Just . . . out," he said without looking back. He continued to exit the cave.

When he was out of sight, Takuya turned his gaze toward the table. Resting on top of it was a cup of water and a plate of bread and unidentifiable meat. The boy sat beside it on the ground, and poked the mystery meat. It seemed dead enough, so he shoved the whole piece - which was very large - inside his mouth. It was hard to chew since the meat took up all the space in his mouth. When he finally got it at least semi-digestible, he swallowed, choked, and thumped his chest a little with his fist until the lump of food went down. He gasped for air as his esophagus at last became clear.

"Erg . . ." Takuya muttered. "Note to self: Never eat half-chewed food. Especially meat."

After the brunette had scarfed the bread and downed the water, he looked toward the direction that the Wolfmon had been walking. He was pretty sure that that tunnel led to the exit, but he couldn't tell since it was engulfed in shadows. His only light was the torch attached to the cave wall. It was secured by a metal ring, and looked like it could be removed.

Takuya grinned. The Wolfmon had told him not to leave, but Takuya promised himself that he wouldn't let anyone boss him around anymore. He gripped the torch right below its flame, and lifted it out of the rusty, metal ring. The teen stood up, then realizing that his backpack was missing, glanced around the room, panicking.

"Dammit!" Takuya swore, then pouted. The Wolfmon must've taken it, to make sure he wouldn't leave. He stomped off toward the supposed exit. Backpack or no backpack, nothing was going to stop him!

Takuya figured that he had been very deep in the cave, for it took at least a half hour before he came upon two tunnels in his path. He didn't know which one to choose, but he finally came to a solution.

Holding the torch out in front of him, Takuya covered his eyes with his other hand, and spun around in circles. He soon slowed down, and began walking forward, hands still acting as a blindfold.

That was a big mistake.

"OW!"

Takuya stumbled backwards as he rubbed his nose. He gradually opened his eyes, and found that he had walked right into the rock wall.

"Another note to self:" he grumbled. "Never walk with eyes closed."

After recovering, the brunette stood up awkwardly, and took the path of the right tunnel. He figured that right is always right, right?

After an hour of walking, Takuya began muttering to himself. "Gaaahh . . . How deep did that Wolfmon take me?! I'm surprised he had enough strength to carry me . . . Bah, he probably just dragged be here. That would explain those tears in my shirt -- WAAAAH!"

The boy had tripped on a large stone that was centered in the middle of the cave and had let the torch fly from his hand and land nearby. He whimpered as he sat up, and looked at his shin where it had hit the rock. Sure enough, his pant leg was torn and his leg was bleeding. Takuya cleaned up the wound a little with a handkerchief he kept in his back pocket.

Looking upwards, he saw a small light coming from an opening at the end of the cave. The exit! Takuya struggled to stand, but hissed with pain as he put weight on his hurt leg. He fell back down to the ground, and decided to get up more steadily.

Supporting himself with one hand against the wall, Takuya limped toward the light. He started out at a slow pace, but kept increasing as he got closer to the exit. He began to squint his eyes as the light shone on his face. He was almost there . . . just a little further. . .

Takuya grinned as he gazed up at the sky. It was a cloudless blue, a perfect day for a walk. The mischievous smile immediately dissapeared as he winced in pain. His shin had continued to bleed, and had begun to sting. The boy collapsed to the ground just outside the cave, clutching at his leg.

"Ahh . . ." he muttered as he used his handkerchief to wipe at his wound again. His breath caught in his throat as he heard a deep, snorting sound from nearby. Takuya carefully looked up as a drop of sweat trickled down his face.

An enormous dinosaur-like monster was standing a few feet in front of Takuya, emerging from behind the cover of trees. The teen whimpered under his breath, knowing that he wasn't able to defend himself against the creature.

"Eh . . . A M-M-M- . . ." he stuttered. " . . . M-Monochromon!" The massive monster continued to snort and grunt aggressively. The Monochromon was a common creature in the forest, but they usually don't attack random people . . .

Takuya looked around, and found a large nest on the ground beside him, littered with giant white eggs.

He quickly returned his gaze to the Monochromon, who was giving one last warning snort. "S-Sorry!" Takuya stammered. "I-I don't want your eggs!" He tried to scooch away from the nest, but could only move a few inches due to his leg. "Final note to self:" Takuya muttered. "Always listen to the Wolfmon when he says to stay put!"

The Monochromon finally began to stampede towards the wounded boy. Takuya squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that this was the end . . .

Instead of meeting with death, Takuya heard a whistling noise, and then a roar of pain. His eyes shot open, focusing on Wolfmon fending off the Monochromon. With one more swift swipe of his blade, the raven-haired teen had slain the monster, with only a few scratches on himself. He returned the sword to its sheath, and turned to glare at the brunette, who was cowering on the ground.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in the cave?!" he snapped harshly. Takuya cringed and shifted his gaze to the dirt, not wanting to make eye-contact. Wolfmon continued to leer at the boy, but soon, his expression softened and he let out a sigh. He kneeled beside Takuya, whose eyes were still averted, and examined his wounded shin.

"You klutz," he remarked, and then sighed again. "Come on."

Wolfmon turned his back towards the brunette, motioning him to get on. Surprised at first, Takuya awkwardly climbed onto his back, and wrapped his arms around the teen's neck as he stood. The wolf-like boy wobbled unsteadily at first, but regained balance as he trekked back into the cave. His arms encircled one of Takuya's legs on each side of his body, he was careful to avoid the cut on the other boy's leg. They traveled in silence, neither speaking a word. The brunette knew that it was going to be awhile before they made it back to their destination, so he made himself comfortable. He shifted slightly, rested his head on the Wolfmon's back, and closed his eyes. He heard the soft 'thump-thump' of the other teen's heart, and smiled. The beating soon became quicker, and Takuya wondered if Wolfmon was pushing himself too hard.

"Are you okay?" the brunette inquired softly.

"Yeah . . ." The raven-haired boy replied, even though a blush had crept to his face.

Those few words were spoken, and then it was back to silence. Takuya had never really been used to it. Back in the village, there was always at least one person out in the street. He was used to the hustle and bustle, and all of the noise and cheers . . . Great. Now he was making himself homesick. He had to think of something else! He buried his face into the other boy's back, and let his own hair mingle with the other's long ponytail.

Despite Takuya's nuzzling, Wolfmon continued to look straight ahead. He knew these tunnels like the back of his hand, and he liked the quiet. It gave him time to think. Soon, instead of hearing the regular silence, soft snores erupted from the boy he was carrying. He frowned, even though he didn't mind the noise. He slowed down his pace, as to not wake Takuya, and his frown slowly turned into a sweet smile.

END OF CHAPTER 4

Ritina: Blargh . . . I would've finished this sooner, but I had a stupid history project to do. And now I have a cold. (sneeze) Joy.


	5. Chapter Five

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 5: 'Q & A Session'

After a few long hours had passed, the Wolfmon, with Takuya on his back, made it back to his home in the tunnels. As gently as he could, he set the sleeping boy on his back on the ground, but his attempt to let him sleep proved fruitless, for Takuya stirred soon after, and mumbled incoherent phrases.

"Mmmpppphhh . . . I dun wanna eat the slug . . yew can't make meeee . . . Fluffy bunnieees . . ." Wolfmon grinned and chuckled slightly at the words the brunette muttered. Takuya rolled over onto his side, and his eyes shot open as his wound began to sting again. He made a squeak-like noise and winced. The raven-haired teen touched the other boy's shoulder lightly. "Let me see your leg."

Takuya sat up, his back supported by the cave wall. He turned so that the Wolfmon could see his wound. The white-scarfed teen peered at it, then reached into the darkness of the cave. When he drew back his hand, grasped in it was a small white bag. He flipped open the cover of the opening, and shuffled around the bag's contents. He withdrew a large, fluffy cottonball, a bottle of disinfectant, and a cloth that served as a bandage. Silently, Wolfmon wet the cottonball with the contents of the bottle, and lightly dabbed at Takuya's bleeding wound. The brunette hissed in pain through his teeth.

"Don't be such a baby," The thin boy commanded, still cleaning up the gash.

"B-But it stiiiings!" Takuya whined in response.

"I know it stings, take it like a man!"

Saying nothing more, the raven-haired teen finished cleaning the cut, and gently wrapped it up in a bandage, but snug enough so that it would stay in place.

"Don't put too much strain on that leg," Wolfmon ordered. "We don't want it to start blee- WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"

Takuya, for apparantly no reason at all, suddenly burst into uncontrollable hyena-like laughter. He clutched his sides and continued his maniacal cackles for what seemed like an eternity. The tan boy completely ignored Wolfmon's outbursts of "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" and "SHUT UP!" until tears formed at the corners of his eyes and his sides began to ache. He gradually began to quiet down, and rubbed his cheeks, they hurt from smiling and laughing so much. He wiped at his eyes and looked up at the severely pissed-off Wolfmon. His eyes and face were twisted into an angry glare, and two veins were bulging in his forehead and neck. Takuya found his expression funny somehow, and unsuccessfully attempted to stifle a loud snort.

"Would you MIND telling me WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" Wolfmon demanded.

Takuya gave one last snicker, and then spoke up. "Heehee, when you said 'want it' it kinda sounded like you said . . ." The immature brunette yet again giggled, and then continued. "It kinda sounded like you said . . . Tit!" With that said, Takuya broke out into another spell of side-splitting laughter.

The raven-haired teen's expression became dumbfounded, then slightly annoyed. He snorted. "Tch, you are so strange . . ." He turned, and took a step forward to travel deeper into the dark cave, but paused. What if that psycho were stupid enough to go back outside again? He figured he'd better keep an eye on him . . .

Wolfmon turned around once again, and found the brunette smothering a few giggles and snorts. Takuya then looked up at him, and for a split second, could have sworn he saw a grin flicker across the Wolfmon's fair features. The said teen sighed, and gracefully sat down on the opposite side of the rock/table of Takuya. He set a few candles on the flat surface, and lit them. Takuya shifted, and sat upright, so that he could face his rescuer. He put his elbow on the table, rested his chin on his palm, and gazed at the Wolfmon.

After at least five minutes of just sitting there doing nothing, the Wolfmon spoke up. "Need something?"

"I was just wondering," Takuya began. "You're the Wolfmon that I was supposed to bring the offering to, right?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Shouldn't you be like, really old then?"

"Err, excuse me?"

"Well, what I mean is --" Takuya lifted his chin from his palm, and folded his arms on the table. "-- since my ancestor, Hiroshi Kanbara, made the first offering 150 years ago, you should be waaaay old. But you look my age! How does that work out?"

"I'm not the same Wolfmon."

"Wha --"

"Let me explain.

"You see, I come from the Wolfmon clan. The first Wolfmon, the one who was around when Hiroshi was, was actually a werewolf. He fell in love with--"

"Oooooooh! A love story! GASP! The Wolfmon has a romantic side!"

"Shut up! Let me --"

"Now, don't go around gettin' all mushy!"

The Wolfmon promptly flicked Takuya's forehead.

"OW! Jeez! What was that for?!"

"Shut up and let me finish!

"Okay, as I was saying, before I was OH SO **RUDELY **interrupted, the Wolfmon fell in love with a human girl, and had a child --"

Takuya burst into another fit of giggling.

"Eeeeeheeheeheehee! They did the _dirty_! Ahahahahaa-- OW! Quit flicking me!"

"And so they had a boy. And this boy inherited the name of Wolfmon. And so whenever another generation of the clan is born, they claim the name of Wolfmon and have to accept the offering that the village of Tallatpicka made."

" . . . Is that all?"

"Well, yeah. What did you expect? A million giant explosions?"

" . . . "

" . . . You did, didn't you?"

" . . . Maybe . . ."

Another spell of silence came between the two, but this time, it was Takuya who spoke first.

"Oh! I never told you my name did I?"

"Hmm, guess you didn't . . ."

The brunette flashed a stupid-looking grin. "I'm Takuya Kanbara!" He extended his hand over the flames of the candles towards the Wolfmon, who paused, then grasped it briefly.

"Last night, didn't you say you had a name?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what is it?"

The thin teen placed his elbows on the table, and laced his fingers together, his expression showing deep contemplation. He remained silent.

"Okay . . . ya' don't wanna answer that question . . ." Takuya nervously scratched the back of his head and looked away. He soon spoke up again.

"How old are you?"

"I'm 16."

"Wow! Really?!" Takuya exclaimed. "But you're like, way shorter than me! I thought you were maybe 14."

" . . . "

The tan boy disliked silences, so he continued asking questions.

"Do you have any relatives?"

Wolfmon nodded. "Yeah, I have my parents, and a twin brother."

"Really? Wait a sec, how come you became Wolfmon instead of your brother?"

"It's a long story, and like I said before: I don't do bedtime stories."

"Awww, you're no fun!"

Despite Takuya's attempts at making a conversation, both boys were quiet yet again. Bored, the brunette rested his chin on his palm again, and played with one of the candles on the table. He wiggled his fingers right in the flame of it. Suddenly, the flame grew in size, and Takuya quickly drew back his hand. He glanced at the Wolfmon, and found that he had been staring at him the whole time.

"The fire . . ." Wolfmon began. "That doesn't hurt you?"

"Um," Takuya answered. "No, never has . . . for some reason . . . I never get burnt."

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask questions."

"Okay, shoot."

"When did you learn that fire wouldn't burn you?"

"Hum . . . Well . . . When I was around 7 or 8 I guess. It was night, and I accidentally knocked over a candle. It burned a hole in my shirt, but my skin was fine."

"Okay, next question. Last night, in the field, how come you didn't have an offering?"

"Oh . . . um . . . " Takuya averted his gaze, recalling his thoughts of running away. "That's . . . kind of . . . a long story . . ."

Wolfmon chuckled. "Heh, just because I don't tell bedtime stories, doesn't mean that I don't enjoy listening to them."

Reassured, Takuya smiled softy. "Well . . . "

Takuya told him everything. Everything about his studies, having no friends, sneaking out, even the book that smelled like raccoon pee. But as he came to a certain part of his tale, he again looked away from the Wolfmon, and fell silent. Not expecting this, the raven-haired teen leaned forward and lightly touched the brunette's hand, then spoke softly. " . . . Are you . . . all right? . . . "

Just then, Takuya began to mutter, and the Wolfmon had to strain his fuzzy wolf ears to hear him clearly.

" . . . I was so lonely . . . It seemed like they couldn't understand . . . Couldn't understand how I felt . . . I told them over and over, how I hated it . . . But they just wouldn't listen . . . But . . . It was . . . It was chaos . . . Chaos all inside me . . . and then . . . I . . . let it loose . . . on them . . . Fire . . . Burning . . . and then . . . " Still looking down, Takuya lifted his free hand. "And with all that power . . . I . . . broke his jaw . . ." Takuya's head then snapped up to look at the other teen. "I-I'm really scared!" He studdered. "If I can't control myself at all, if I let loose again, I could hurt someone really bad! O-Or worse . . ."

The Wolfmon leaned forward across the table, and rested his hand lightly on the side of the brunette's face, and gently kissed his forehead. A light red tinge crept across Takuya's face. "Shhh . . ." the raven-haired teen cooed softly against the boy's messy hair. "Don't worry, everything's going to be all right. Just relax, we'll deal with it in the morning . . . " He looked down and smiled sweetly. "Okay?"

Takuya gazed innocently up at the blue-eyed teen. "Okay . . ."

"All right then," the Wolfmon stood up, and turned to walk down the tunnel, but Takuya caught the end of his striped scarf.

"Don't go!" Takuya cried. "I don't wanna be alone!"

Wolfmon stared at him. But Takuya was looking up at him with those big, chocolate-brown, pleading puppy-dog eyes. How could he resist?

The raven-haired teen once again reached into the darkness of the cave, and retrieved a large blanket and a few pillows. He spread them out on the dirt floor next to the rock/table and made himself comfortable. He motioned for the brunette to come over, and Takuya willingly obliged. Wolfmon laid on his side, rested his head on one of the pillows, and closed his eyes. But they soon quickly shot open as he felt the brunette's arms encircle his waist. Takuya snuggled his face against the teen's chest, and shifted so that he wasn't laying on his injured leg. Wolfmon smiled, and gently wrapped his arms around Takuya and pulled the blanket around them. With one hand, he stroked the boy's hair, and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "My name is . . . Kouji . . ."

But he wasn't sure if Takuya heard him or not. He was already breathing steadily, and his nose made quiet whistling sounds. Kouji smiled and squeezed Takuya closer to him, and soon drifted off to sleep as well.

END OF CHAPTER 5

Ritina: Whoo-pah! I made a nice long chapter for ya! Sorry I haven't updated in such a loooooong time! My history teacher slapped 2 projects on me, and I also had to finish my science project. But now I've finished them all! Oh, I feel so relaxed now that all of that's out of the way, I could just melt!


	6. Chapter Six

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 6: 'Silky!'

A certain raven-haired teen stirred in his sleep, and then slowly revealed the midnight blue orbs that were his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, and saw Takuya, arms still around his waist, smiling sweetly up at him. "Good morning . . ." the brunette began cheerfully. " . . . Kouji!"

Kouji was a bit confused at first, but then remembered that he had whispered his name in the boy's ear the previous night. He grinned from ear to ear and squeezed Takuya close to him. In turn, the tan boy tightened his grip on Kouji's waist. For a while they stayed like that, just holding eachother, when finally, they both loosened their grip.

"Oh! Ah, um . . ." Kouji studdered. "Err, sorry . . ."

Takuya gazed up at him. "For what?"

The raven-haired teen was speechless. The puppy eyes! THE PUPPY EYES!

"Um," Kouji muttered, mezmerized by the puppy-dog eyes. "N-Nothing . . ."

The brunette giggled childishly. "Heehee! I should be thanking you

Now it was Kouji's turn. "For what?"

Takuya smiled. "For staying with me, I don't like being alone."

The blue-eyed teen's face flushed a bright red. Takuya's expression became concerned.

"Are you feeling okay?" the brunette touched his forehead to Kouji's. "You're kinda hot. Are you sick or something?"

"Ah!" The physical contact caused Kouji to blush even more. He struggled to stand up. "I-I'm fine! Really I-- ACK!!" While trying to get up, Kouji had tripped over his own feet, and fell, sprawled over the brunette. Both their eyes widened, and Takuya's cheeks became the same color as Kouji's. The puppy-eyed boy coughed nervously, and the pale teen quickly stood, making sure that this time he didn't make any mistakes.

"I-I'm going to go get some food." Kouji stated, avoiding Takuya's gaze. "Stay here . . . I mean it. And don't put any weight on your leg." The brown-eyed boy watched as the other teen's figure disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Once he was out of sight, Takuya sat up, leaned against the cave wall, and closed his eyes. This was great, more quiet. Just to break the silence, he hummed a little tune, and drummed his fingers on the rock/table. The song he was humming was one that he had heard numerous times back in Tallatpicka. The villagers sang it at every festival. Festivals were practially the only times that Takuya's parents let him skip his studies for the day and have fun. He could clearly remember each cheerful, singing face of the choir, but couldn't recall all the lyrics. But he could remember a little bit about what the song was about. There were falling autumn leaves, the fresh spring flowers, and new beginnings for all. This tune had always been Takuya's favorite . . .

'_Great, just friggin' great._' Takuya thought as he wiped at his eye. '_Now I'm getting homesick again! Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it . . ._' But that just made him think about it even more, and that made him even more homesick. Why was he getting so worked up over this?! It had only been a few days, and all he ever wanted all his life was to get away from his so-called home. And now he _wanted to go back to it?!_ Takuya now wiped at both his eyes with his sleeve. "No crying . . . no crying . . ." he muttered to himself over and over again. But despite his efforts, hot tears continued to stream down his face. He had never been away from the village, not even once. He began to feel a twinge of regret in the pit of his stomach, and tried to smother it with thoughts of Kouji. He was staying with Kouji now, that was all that mattered . . .

Wait.

How long was Kouji going to let him stay with him?

And why was he taking so long to get food?!

Suddenly forgetting about being homesick, Takuya wiped at his eyes one last time, and scowled at the darkness of the cave as his stomach gave a rather loud gurgle. His expression brightened as the sound of soft, plodding footsteps reached his ears. Soon, Kouji came into view, carrying a two small boxes of food wrapped in white cloths. He smiled, and set the bundles on top of the table, and sat opposite of Takuya.

"Dig in!"

The starving brunette practically tore open the package, to find a simple breakfast of a sweet rice cake, a pancake, and an orange juice box. He fumbled with the chopsticks in his hand, and ravenously scarfed the pancake. Only when the pancake was halfway down his throat did he remember his resolution to chew his food before swallowing. It was then that the breakfast pastry became stuck in his esophagus. He gave a few strangled coughs, and thumped on his chest, but his attempts where fruitless, as the whole pancake was still lodged in his throat. Noticing Takuya's antics, Kouji became concerned, and rushed to the brunette's aid. He wrapped his arms around the choking boy's waist, and performed the Heimlich.

The pancake finally came up Takuya's throat, and he spit it out. He continued to cough, his face a deep scarlet hue. Kouji patted the boy's back, then ran his hand up and down it. Takuya's coughing ceased, but Kouji's hand remained on his back. The younger boy looked sheepishly up at Kouji, and gave a lop-sided grin. "Err . . . heh heh . . . T-Thanks . . ."

As the raven-haired teen gazed down at Takuya, the brunette's heart began to beat, ever so slightly, faster. The quick 'thump-thumps' were so loud, that he was sure that the pale teen could clearly hear them. Unexpectantly, Kouji grinned and chuckled. "Heh, don't you _ever_ chew your food?" he teased.

"Heeeey!" Takuya pouted and playfully poked Kouji's stomach. The said teen gave a strangled laugh and fell backwards, but caught himself by placing his hand behind him on the dirt floor. "Don't do that again! I'm ticklish!"

The brunette gave a mischievous sneer. "Ticklish, eh?" He immediately pounced Kouji, knocking him to the floor. The raven-haired teen let out a yelp, but it turned into uncontrollable laughter as Takuya began to prod and poke his sides. Kouji squirmed underneath the brunette, and coughed a few times from laughing so much. Suddenly, Takuya's pokes ceased, and Kouji gazed up at him, breathing heavily.

"Had enough?" The brunette grinned. Kouji smirked as well, placed his hands on Takuya's shoulders, and promptly flipped him over, so that Takuya was laying down and Kouji was on top. The raven-haired teen said nothing, and kept his grip firm so that the brown-eyed boy couldn't get away. He gazed down at him, and slowly began to lean forward . . .

Takuya's eyes widened as he felt warm lips pressed upon his own. He closed his eyes, and deepened the kiss, his heart beating faster. But then a new thought occurred to him.

Why was he doing this?

It had only been, what, three days since he had met Kouji?

And now he was _kissing _him?

But . . . he had never felt like this about anyone before.

Could it be that he really . . .

Kouji felt that Takuya wasn't responding anymore, and pulled away. He loosened his grip on Takuya's shoulders, and averted his gaze, blushing nervously. "Ah, I . . . Um . . . S-Sorry . . ." he studdered. The brunette smiled at Kouji's expression. He looked so cute when he was embarrassed. He placed his hands on the raven-haired boy's face, and pulled him down, bringing him into another kiss.

Takuya could feel Kouji's tongue lightly flick across his lips, and he gladly let him in. Kouji pressed down against the tan boy's body, exploring his mouth hungrily. Takuya encircled his arms around Kouji's neck, and ran his fingers through his long, silky raven hair. The wolf-like teen smiled through the kiss, enjoying the contact. The brunette's hands came back to Kouji's face, and he caressed the teen's pale cheeks. Takuya's hands trailed all over Kouji's face, and they came to rest on his fuzzy ears. He touched them between his thumb and fore-finger, and softly stroked.

A bit unnerved, the raven-haired teen broke the kiss and looked down questioningly at Takuya. The brunette smiled childishly, and said, "Silky!"

Kouji leaned down again and touched his forehead to Takuya's, his thin frame shaking with muffled snorts. He finally let it out as they both broke out into wild laughter. The raven-haired teen let himself rest beside the brunette, his hand on his chest as he let out a last few chuckles. He gleefully gazed up into Takuya's soft, chocolate-brown eyes and smiled. The tan boy wrapped one of his arms around Kouji's shoulders, squeezing him close. He leaned his head down, and whispered in the raven-haired boy's ear.

"Can I stay with you forever?"

Kouji snuggled his face into Takuya's chest and closed his eyes blissfully. "Of course. . ." Suddenly remembering something, his eyes snapped open and he sat up, Takuya releasing his grip on him.

"What's wrong?" the brunette asked.

A look of worry came across the teen's face as he woefully looked at Takuya. "W-What about . . ." he began. ". . . Your family?"

Takuya's eyes widened, then he recalled that awful, homesick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Oh . . ." he muttered and sat up as well. "I-I suppose they would come looking for me . . . Does anyone know about this place?"

Kouji shook his head. "No one other than my family and I."

"In that case, they'll probably never find me unless I go to them. And I'm not really planning on doing that."

"B-But . . . They'll be worried about you . . . Don't you at least, want to tell them that you're all right?"

Takuya furrowed his brow. "I'm not so sure about that."

". . . Did something happen before you left?"

"Yeah . . . I didn't really explain what had happened last night, did I?" The brunette shifted, getting more comfortable. "Um . . . You know how fire doesn't burn me, right?"

Kouji nodded.

"Well . . ." Takuya trailed off, then continued. "It sort of turns out that I can control it too, I think."

The shorter teen's eyes widened. "Really?!"

The brunette began to wring his hands nervously. "I think I told you last night sort of . . . that I kinda lost it."

"Yeah."

"Well . . . it was crazy, I mean . . . It was like, when I got so angry, something inside me -- like a barrier or a seal -- just . . . snapped, you know? And it was like I had no control over my body anymore, like someone else took over me and let loose all that chaos that had been building up inside me . . . I was eating dinner with my parents, that's when it happened. My mom was fine, just freaked out, but my dad . . . I . . . I really hurt him. With just one punch . . . I broke his jaw . . . But I could see and feel all these flames around me, like them and me were one and the same: Raging fire . . ." Takuya looked up at Kouji, and was surprised to find the teen paler than usual. "W-What's wrong?"

Kouji brushed a few strands of his raven hair out of his face, and licked his lips nervously. "Um . . . there's a story that's been passed down throughout many generations of my family . . . It concerns the first Wolfmon . . ."

Kouji trailed off, and Takuya shifted closer to him, eager to hear the story.

Finally, the raven-haired teen continued. " . . . And the first Agnimon."

END OF CHAPTER SIX

Ritina: Oooooh there's a plot twist for ya! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can!! Remember to review! Happy Holidays!


	7. Chapter Seven

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 7: 'Tale of the Agnimon'

Finally, the raven-haired teen continued. " . . . And the first Agnimon."

"Agnimon?" the brunette questioned.

"Yeah, the story takes place in Tsuki Village 157 years ago, seven years before Hiroshi Kanbara made the first offering to the Wolfmon. At that time, the Wolfmon --his name was Rave-- was 13 years old, and that's when he was first bitten by a werewolf. The news quickly spread throughout the town, and parents told their children to stay away from Rave, and all of his friends abandoned him. On every night that there was a full moon, Rave's parents would take him to a sturdy shed in the middle of the nearby forest, so that he wouldn't cause chaos in the village.

"One full moon night, everything had gone as planned. Rave was locked up in the shed, and his parents waited out the night at home. But as he sat in a corner of the shed, waiting to transform, Rave heard someone whisper to him. 'Don't worry, you're not alone.' A voice murmured to him on the other side of the wall."

"Was that the Agnimon?" Takuya inquired.

Kouji nodded, and continued on with his story. "When the light of dawn arose from behind the hills, Rave returned to his natural form, and peeked outside through a crack in the wall, wondering if the person was still there. Soon, his parents came to unlock him, and as soon as the door was open, Rave bolted out, deeper into the woods. He could hear his parents' frantic cries call after him, but he didn't care. He wanted to find that certain person, and hear his comforting voice again. Rave's feet began to hurt, his sides began to ache, and his stomach rumbled loudly. He fell to his knees, and called out, 'Where are you?!' No one answered, except for his own echos.

"Rave squeezed his eyes shut, but gasped as he suddenly felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the blue eyes of the Agnimon. Agnimon smiled, and said, 'I'll never leave you alone.'

"Agnimon and Rave continued to live together, working their way through the nights when Rave changed into his wolf self. They continued to live like this for seven years, and in the nearby town of Tallatpicka, stories and legends spawned about this wolf-man, this Wolfmon. And then, Hiroshi Kanbara called for the Wolfmon's aid on that night of the full moon, and saw the wolf form of Rave appear before him.

"A couple of years later after that, Rave met a human girl named Izumi, and they fell in love. Rave left the Agnimon, but Rave promised to return the Agnimon's favor of helping him when he was lost. They swore that they would see each other again, even if it took one hundred years."

"Back in Rave's hometown, Tsuki, his family never saw him again, and declared him dead. His family had another son named Evar, but in the early years of his life, he becamed cursed by a cat demon. On every pitch-black night of a new moon, he would transform into the image of the cat demon. But when Evar transformed, he could control himself, unlike Rave and his wolf form. So he protected the village from raiders, and the townspeople gave him a name: Ravemon, after his lost brother.

"Evar also met a human girl and had children, and the next generations of Ravemon and Wolfmon met again and entertwined as one. Ever since then, every descendant of the Wolf and Rave clans has had a pair of twin boys. One would inherit the name Wolfmon, the other became Ravemon."

"Oh! I get it!" Takuya exclaimed. "Your brother didn't become Wolfmon because he became Ravemon!"

Kouji nodded, but then frowned. "But it's kind of strange, really. Usually, the older brother becomes Wolfmon, because Rave was older than Evar. But my twin was born before me and became Ravemon."

"Hrm . . ." Takuya mumbled, but then spoke up. "So, that night when whe first met, you had turned into a werewolf?"

"Yes," Kouji answered. "But since all members of my family fell in love with humans, the werewolf and cat demon genes have been altered. We still turn into our demon selves at the full and new moons, but we only stay transformed during the midnight hour. At one o'clock, we change back. And when we return to our human selves, we still carry traits of our other forms. Such as our ears and tail."

"Hum, and I thought _my_ family was weird." Takuya chuckled slightly, then became serious once again. "Hey, did Rave and the Agnimon ever meet up again?"

"Sadly, no." Kouji answered forlornly. "It was a promise that couldn't be kept."

"Do you know anything more about the Agnimon? Did he have any family?"

"No, he lived alone until he met Rave."

"I wonder . . ." Takuya mused. "Was Agnimon a person? Or was he like Rave and Evar? What if he had another form like them?"

"No one knows," Kouji stated. "The Agnimon never had any descendants, so it's a mystery."

Both teens fell silent after that, contemplating all the possibilities. Suddenly, a question sprung into Takuya's head.

"Um," he began. "You have a family and all, so why are you living in a cave all by yourself?"

"I have to protect Tallatpicka," Kouji answered. "It's my duty. I have to. The same as it's my brother's duty to protect the village of Tsuki."

Takuya pressed his palm to the side of his head. "Ohhhh! All this thinking is making my brain hurt!!"

The raven-haired teen chuckled, then leaned towards the taller boy, and lightly pressed his lips against the brunette's. "You know . . ." he began. "Maybe, we we're destined to meet."

"Eh?" the brunette said.

"Well, I'm not sure how to explain it . . ." Kouji continued. "But I think that the Agnimon and Rave were ment to meet each other somehow, because both the towns of Tallatpicka and Tsuki needed protecting, but Rave was an only child at first. After he left, it was only then that his parents decided to have another child. Although they truly missed Rave, they felt like it was a new beginning for them, a fresh start, when they had Evar. Then both brothers grew up to become protectors of the two towns. You see, everything happens for a reason. Then everything can fall into place. It's like our lives are already set on this one path, and you can't change directions because that would throw you off course to your destination, and that would affect _everyone_ around you. Do you get it?"

"Hrm, not really," Takuya grinned sheepishly. "But whatever it is you mean, I'm sure you're right."

Kouji chuckled quietly. "Heh heh, you're so silly. Oh! Lately, I've been low on supplies. So I'm going to go visit my family in Tsuki to restock. The villagers there are the only ones who are pretty much used to . . . well, you know." Kouji twitched his fuzzy ears.

"Why is that? Why can't you just get supplies in Tallatpicka?" Takuya questioned.

"Well, since Tsuki is where the Wolfmon and Ravemon clans originated, it's common knowledge what my brother and I look like, and we walk freely in the streets without being harrassed."

"Hum, I guess that makes sense . . ." the brunette figured. "How far away is it?"

"Not very, it's pretty close," Kouji answered. "On foot, we should be able to get there in about an hour and a half, less if we go quickly, but considering your leg . . . you're in no condition to go anywhere."

Takuya had almost forgotten about the cut in his shin. It had stopped hurting and it didn't bother him anymore.

"You should stay here and get some rest, it might get worse if you put too much weight on it. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" Kouji stood and made sure that his long, striped scarf was secure, then grasped a backpack from the darkness of the cave. He leaned down, and kissed Takuya lightly on the forehead, and said, "Really, get some rest . . . Bye!"

With that said, the teen made his way through the darkness, and soon disappeared from sight. Takuya sighed, and then layed back down on the blanket and pillow. One way to avoid the uncomfortable silence was to sleep through it, and surely enough, the brunette was snoring in a matter of minutes.

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN

Ritina: Wow, I got this chapter up sooner than I expected! ((Huggles new Naruto wallscroll)) SQUEE! Oh! I was in an anime store today, and there was this shoulder-bag that I wanted but was too expensive. It had a message embroidered on it. It said: _ANIME_

(then below it) _Crack is cheaper!_ Haha! Too true!


	8. Chapter Eight

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 8: 'I Promise!'

* * *

_A pale, raven-haired boy fell to his knees in the middle of a forest. He screamed "Where are you?!" He heard no answer except for his own echos. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up into icy-blue eyes, and felt that he had finally been found, after being lost for so long._

_The tanned boy had messy, brunette hair and wore a red and yellow yukata that was decorated with a fireball pattern. A long, reptilian tail trailed behind him on the ground, and small, dragon-like wings were folded on his back. He smiled down at the smaller boy, and said, "I'll never leave you alone." He helped him to his feet, and introduced himself. "I'm Frei, known as the Agnimon."_

_"I-I'm Rave," the pale boy studdered. His nervous expression soon became one of innocent cheerfulness as Frei took his hand in his own, and led him through the forest, to a cave hidden in the shrubs and greenery. They ventured inside for hours, until the brunette finally stopped at a point in the tunnel, where there was a rock jutting out from the side of the cave wall that served as a table. On its surface were two plates of delicious-looking food, and Frei invited Rave to sit and eat. When they were finished, Rave brought up a question that had been silently bugging him._

_"Why are you doing all this for me?"_

_The Agnimon smiled sweetly, and said simply. "Everyone needs to be found when they're lost . . . they need to be saved."_

_"But . . ." the raven-haired boy muttered. "What about my parents?"_

_"They'll be fine . . .They'll be okay."_

_Unexpectedly, Rave reached around the rock/table, and tugged slightly on Frei's tail. The brunette chuckled. "Heh, yeah, it's real."_

_"Um, were you born . . . that way?"_

_"No," The winged boy smiled softly, remembering the events of his past. "My wings and tail were sort of . . . a gift, a blessing, if you will._

_"It was about 3 years ago, when I was traveling these very woods. I had found an old man being robbed by a gang of thieves. I fought them off the best I could, though I couldn't do much and they ended up getting away with the man's valuables and leaving me broken. But the old man smiled, despite his situation. He said to me, 'You have a good heart . . . You never run away when you or someone else is in danger.' It turned out that the man used to be a dragon master when he was younger. He gave me a reward for trying to defend him, even if I was weaker . . ." Frei unfolded his wings and continued. "He gave me these dragon wings, to represent my soaring mind. And gave me this dragon tail, to represent my sturdy heart." The brunette then extended his palm out in front of him, a small fire appearing in it. "And gave me the power of flame, to represent my burning courage . . ._

* * *

_. . . It had seemed like only a second had passed, when actually 7 years had already gone by. Frei and Rave had been living together all that time, happy as could be. Over the years, sometimes on nights of the full moon, Rave had been spotted by villagers, and that's how the stories and legends of the Wolfmon came to be. On the night that Hiroshi Kanbara made the offering to the legendary Wolfmon, Rave had transformed into his wolf self, and appeared before Hiroshi. Whenever Rave transformed, Frei had always followed him, making sure that he didn't get into trouble. Although nothing had happened for the past 7 years, the brunette always took precautions._

_After encountering the Kanbara boy, Rave ran in a direction the men usually didn't take on their midnight travels. Nonetheless, Frei followed anyway, figuring that the raven-haired wolf-man was answering the boy's plea for help. Rave was headed toward a barely-sightable trail of smoke rising from a small campfire in the forest. The wolf immediately ambushed the group of people gathered around the fire. They were the seven thieves that had raided the village of Tallatpicka so many times. Rave took out almost half of them, but was shot by a volley of arrows by the remaining few. The wolf howled in pain, and Frei, the Agnimon, made his entrance, burning the thieves to death with a wave of scorching-hot flames. He proceeded to remove the arrows from Rave's body, the wolf not objecting. When they were all out, the wolf sniffed around the camp, and clawed open one of the tents, revealing the loot taken from the village._

_The dim light of dawn soon broke above the hills, and Rave shivered slightly, returning to his human form. He smiled up at Frei. "We'd better take this back, eh?" . . .

* * *

_

_. . . Another few years had passed, about three or four, when Rave and Frei found a girl lost in the forest. She was a pretty blonde girl, with sparkling green eyes. She was about their age, maybe younger, and she introduced herself as Izumi. The raven-haired man was instantly amazed by her beauty, it might've been love at first sight. Over time, Izumi and Rave became very close, and they planned to move to a village, neither Tsuki or Tallatpicka, and start a family. When it came time to say good-bye to Frei, he almost couldn't do it._

_"Hey . . ." the brunette said softly. "Don't be sad, we'll see each other again, I promise. Look . . ." Frei rolled up his sleeve, revealing the tanned skin of his right arm. He pressed his other hand to his arm, and winced, a sizzling noise coming from his skin._

_"E-Eh?" Rave said, bewildered. "W-What are you doing?!"_

_Frei grinned impishly, and removed his hand. On his skin, he had burned the other man's name into his arm: RAVE._

_"I swear," the brunette promised. "By the pain in my right arm, that I _will_ see you again. You can count on it!"_

_Rave smiled, knowing that Frei never ever broke a promise. He extended his right arm as well, and flicked out a knife from his back pocket, he quickly slashed the brunette's name into his arm: FREI._

_"I swear," the raven-haired man said. "That's I'll see you again, and save you when you're lost."_

_Both men grinned, and grasped each other's hand. They spoke in unison._

_"I promise!"

* * *

_

Takuya sat straight up, sweat streaming down his face and panting heavily. He brushed his untidy bangs out of his eyes and wiped away the sweat from his forehead.

"Urgh . . ." the brunette muttered, then thought to himself. 'What the hell was up with that freaky dream?'

The teen layed back down and pressed his palm to his forehead. Then, he heard soft footsteps coming towards him. It must be Kouji with the supplies! Just how long was he asleep?

Sure enough, the blue-eyed teen soon came into view, his backpack full. He slipped it off and kneeled next to the brunette. "You're drenched in sweat," he stated. "Were you too hot?"

"N-No . . ." Takuya answered quietly. "I-I just . . . had this really weird dream . . ."

"Was it a nightmare?"

"No . . . I . . . I . . ."

"What?"

" . . . I . . . I think I saw . . . the Agnimon . . ."

"What?! How?"

"I-I don't know," the brunette studdered. "H-His name was Frei . . . "

"Frei . . ." Kouji muttered, then glanced at Takuya's arm, concern dancing across his face. "Takuya, what happened to your arm?"

The said teen nervously looked at his arm, then gasped. On it was burned a certain word . . . a name . . .

RAVE.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT

Ritina:Wow! Two chapters in one day!Ooooh! More plot twists! I'm having SO much fun!! Yup, I decided to put borders in this chapter, I figured it would be a little easier to see scene changes. Please review!


	9. Chapter Nine

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 9: 'Crap of Holiness'

* * *

The brunette just gaped at the name on his arm. Then he began to roughly rub at it with his left hand. "No way!" he exclaimed in disbelief. He began to rub harder when the marking refused to disappear. "No way no way no way no waaay!"

Kouji gripped Takuya's shoulders and spoke softly. "Calm down . . ."

The tanned boy just looked up at him with wide, frantic eyes. "This name! Rave! Frei burned it into his arm when they parted! I saw it, I saw it all!"

The raven-haired teen seemed to be unaffected by Takuya's inchoherent ranting. He leaned forward slightly, and touched his forehead to the brunette's. "Shhh . . ."

This time, Takuya quieted down, and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Kouji's warm breath on his face. When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the other teen smiling softly. "What you have claimed to see," Kouji said. "Must have been actual events from the past."

"Well, duh," Takuya said bluntly. Kouji pouted, and playfully knocked the brunette on the head with his knuckles. "Tell me what you saw in your dream."

Takuya obeyed, he could remember it clearly, almost as if the dream was his _own_ past. He described everything in great detail, from what Rave and Frei had been wearing, to what the scenery consisted of. When he had finished, Takuya looked up at Kouji, who was deep in contemplation.

"Hmmm . . . " The pale teen murmured. "I should have known that something like this would happen . . ."

"Something like what?" Takuya asked.

Kouji returned the brunette's gaze. "Well, erm, how do I explain this . . . Since . . . Since I'm the descendant of the original Wolfmon, I should have figured that his past would show up in my future. I'm not really sure how it works, though. Most likely, it has something to do with the fact that all of the descendants of Rave have the same destiny: To protect Tallatpicka."

"But what does your family line have to do with me?" Takuya inquired. "After all, I'm the one who had the dream, and I'm not related to you!"

"I know," Kouji answered calmly. "Though I figure . . . that you're somehow related to Frei, the Agnimon."

"Eh?" the brunette's eyes widened. "But Frei had no descendants! How could I be related to him!"

"I know," The raven-haired teen's fuzzy ears flattened slightly. "And that's what really bugs me, there's no other explanation."

A spell of silence was temporarily cast over the two boys, until Takuya's eyes suddenly widened to an inhuman size. "OH MY GOD! EEEWWWW! BAD MENTAL IMAGE!" The brunette shreiked and tried to claw out his eyeballs with his fingernails. Kouji nearly jumped out of his skin at the ear-splitting cry, and grasped the frantic boy's wrists, trying to restrain him. "H-Hey! Stop that!"

"I know how I could be related to Frei even though he didn't have any family!" Takuya didn't wait for a response from the surprised Kouji to shout out his solution to the mystery. "HE ASEXUALLY REPRODUCED!"

Kouji's expression of shock quickly turned into that of sheer annoyance. Asexual reproduction? That was just _ludicrous_.

The wolf-boy sighed and lightly clapped his hand on Takuya's head. "Re-LAX. Humans can't asexually reproduce! There needs to be _two_ people for . . . _you know_ . . . "

The brunette shot a pouty glare at the thinner teen. "Jeez, don't pop out and give me a sex ed. lesson!"

Kouji cringed at the 's' word and grumbled, retracting his hand. Takuya noticed the teen's actions, and gave a mischeivous, almost evil, grin. "Oooooh, you don't like the _'S'_ word, do 'ya?"

Fear and confusion danced across Kouji's face, and was obviously unnerved by Takuya's devilish expression. He scurried backwards away from the brunette slightly, but he wasn't quick enough. Takuya's moves were almost lightning-quick and he soon pounced Kouji and pinned him to the ground, all the while screaming, "_Sex! Sex! SEX!_"

Kouji had his eyes squeezed shut, as if that would protect himself from hearing the 'forbidden' word. The impish brunette just burst out laughing at his expression and buried his face in the other teen's neck. Kouji slowly opened his eyes, then asked with concern, "Hey . . . Doesn't jumping around hurt your leg?"

Takuya muffled the last of his laughter, and looked up at the raven-haired teen. "Not really . . . come to think of it . . . it hasn't really hurt at all ever since I woke up . . ." The brunette sat up, his back against the cave wall, and undid the wrappings on his wound.

The inward side of the bandage was stained with medium-sized splashes of blood, but Takuya's shin was completely healed, not even a scratch or a scar remained. Wide-eyed, the brunette ran his fingertips over the area where the wound should have been. "Whoah . . . "

"Now there's no doubt about it," Kouji said, eyeing Takuya's miraculously healed leg. "You are _definitely _related to the Agnimon, no ordinary human can heal that fast . . . or withstand fire like you do."

"Jeez," Takuya's expression converted from awe, to irritated. "This is so damn confusing. There is no reasonable explanation to how I'm related to Frei! And my traits can't just be inherited from some dead dude whom I'm not even in the slightest way related to!" Takuya's tone of voice became more frustrated as he continued to rant. "I mean, why is this happening to me! I'm just like any other kid, no different! I mean, besides the fact that I'm the descendant to some gullible kid who called for help from a werewolf. Gah!" His ramblings became more inchoherent. "And Rave, turnin' into a wolf ever since he was 13, that's _gotta_ be a ton of stress on a kid. And then Frei and Rave split up and never saw each other again, even though they promised to, broken promises put a _ton_ of guilt on someone! And now they're dead and stuff, so their promise can never be fulfilled! I mean, the only way they could keep it now was if they reincarnated into new people and met up again and be all happy and huggly and, and, and . . . and . . . and . . . "

A spell of silence washed over the two teens as the wheels turned in their heads. At exactly the same time, both of their eyes widened in realization, and they looked at eachother in disbelief. Then they spoke in unison.

"HOLY CRAP!"

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 9

Ritina: KYAHA! Ain't _that_ an interesting way to end a chapter? But I'm so sorry that it took me MONTHS to update and that this chapter is kind of short! I've just been using up all of my creative energy on my webcomics. I've been running 2 and I'm going to start another one later this year. But I will try to get the next chapter (which will be the final one) up soon!


	10. Chapter Ten

The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfmon'!

Chapter 10: ''The End"

* * *

"HOLY CRAP!"

Both boys spoke in unison, astonished as to what they had just figured out. In disbelief, Takuya put his hand to his forehead, and then smoothed back his unruly bangs, which just fell back into place as he rested his palm on the back of his head.

"Th . . . This is just _too_ weird!" the brunette muttered.

"Yeah . . . " Kouji agreed. "But . . . it's the only way that this is all possible. I mean, now that I know it for sure . . . everythings just so clear now."

Takuya looked up at the pale boy in confusion. "Fill me in, buddy, I'm still clueless."

Kouji gazed at the brunette intensely. "You see, when Rave ran away, he got lost in the woods, and then Frei found him and helped him. When they had to part, Rave promised him that he would return the favor and save him when he was lost." He leaned in closer to Takuya. "When you ran away, were you lost?"

"Uh . . . Yeah . . . Sorta . . . " the brunette stumbled over his words. "But kind of in a different sense. See, I wasn't lost _literally_, I was lost _metaphorically_. When I ran away, I felt like I was . . . losing myself or something. When I hit my dad, I didn't know what had come over me. And so I thought maybe, I wasn't who I really thought I was. Do you get what I mean?"

Kouji nodded, then smiled. "It's amazing how important such a simple promise can become," he leaned in closer to Takuya. "That you'd go to the end of time just to fufill it."

The brunette smiled back. Then he cupped the other teen's face in his hand, and brought him into a chaste kiss. When they broke apart, Takuya spoke up. "I'm glad you found me, otherwise I'd be lost forever." The two pressed their lips together once again, this time with more emotion. When they parted again, Kouji's pale face was flushed. "You're going to be with me forever, right?" The smaller boy asked. Takuya grinned reasurringly. "Of course! Now that we've found eachother again after a billion years, I'm not just gonna get up and walk away." The tanned teen took the other boy's hand in his own. He leaned in close to the other's face and looked into his eyes with an unwavering gaze. Then, he quoted what he had said long, long ago.

"I promise."

THE END

* * *

Awwww! Now wasn't that sweet? Err, more like "short and sweet". Sorry that it was so short! It took me FOREVER to type this up. I've been using up my creative energy on other projects and I just had to squeeeeze this out so I wouldn't leave you guys hanging. Since I'm preoccupied with other stuff, this is probably the last fanfiction that I'll write for a very, very long time. If you want more of my work, just click on the link to my website in my profile, the link next to "Homepage". It's one of my webcomics, and I hope you enjoy it! And hopefully, later on I'll get some inspiration to do another fanfiction. Since my current craze is "Naruto", I'll probably do a fanfiction of that, if I get any ideas.

And so that's the end of this story, I really hope you all enjoyed reading it! You'll hear from me when I return to the world of fanfiction. See ya'!


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